Productivity Apps Entrepreneurs Can't Live Without

These apps help you work smarter.

By
Chong Seow Wei and Aditi Rane on Jun 27, 2017

Feeling more and more time-strapped than ever before? The secret to staying on top of your tasks is to use the best productivity apps on the market. They'll help you save time, plan better and even encourage you to develop healthier habits.

Five creatives and entrepreneurs share their favourite mobile apps for boosting productivity.

"My favourite app lately is Overcast, which is almost like Spotify, but for podcasts. There's a good mix of programmes, from business and tech to entertainment and culture. What I love about podcasts is that I can consume it on the move—whether I'm in between meetings, travelling overseas, or at the end of a day when I'm usually not in the best state to devour a thick book."

"I love using RescueTime, which tracks everything I've done on my computer and sorts them into categories like work, communication, news and social networking. It also gives a breakdown on how much time I spend in programmes such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. I find it this useful because I get to monitor how much time I spend working versus doing frivolous matters. I can also set goals to hit everyday for each category, which keeps me on track with my tasks."

"I often use the app, Deskjob, which encourages me to stand up or do some stretches when I've been sitting for too long. Sitting down for long periods of time can be bad for health, but it's inevitable in most corporate jobs. This tool really reminds me to maintain good health practices in the office."

"I'm a to-do list kind of person and Trello is my go-to app for it. I use OKR (Objectives and Key Results), a popular goal system that helps companies stay aligned by connecting different objectives that range from coporate to personal. Trello's list-like "board" system helps me keep track of my monthly objectives, I then create "to-dos" within my objectives, listing out the necessary steps to reach my goals. I've tried many ways to keep myself in check (notepads, excel sheets, other productivity apps) and Trello is the only one that stuck. It's super easy to use, free and has a web and app interface. "

"Mimetic.ai. At Carousell, we've been using Mimetic’s virtual assistant, Jarvis, for the past few months to schedule appointments. All you need to do is give your Mimetic’s bot instructions over email, and it will help schedule your lunches, interviews, meetings and so on. It can also calculate different timezones for overseas calls and conferences. It’s a great productivity tool, and as the company develops their artificial intelligence further, there’s a huge opportunity for this to become a must-have in people’s everyday lives."